By Kevin Meyer
Yesterday I came across a video created by McDonald’s in the UK that attempts to demonstrate the value of being a McDonald’s employee – and refute some of the criticism. I’ve been pondering it for several hours and still conclude it’s a good thing – even if we all wish there were more manufacturing jobs making real things instead of service jobs making us fat.
Some of the good points:
- McDonald’s is making a bit of a gutsy move to admit that although their jobs really are “just” flipping burgers, they are still solid jobs in a difficult economy.
- I’m sure the underlying meaning was to improve the company’s reputation, but in doing so they are also supporting and promoting the value of their employees.
- You’ll notice the defined feedback and training (and train-the-trainer) programs create progression and promotion opportunities.
- You may also notice a couple situations where mistakes were made – but the intent was to learn from the mistake to improve the process, not pound on the person.
- Note how McDonald’s differentiates their training and promotion opportunities from other low wage jobs.
It’s eight minutes long and potentially a tear-jerker by the time you get to the end. Think about your own employees as you watch it – especially those that do the jobs that most of us would not want to do. Do you overtly support them the same way, and let them know they are critical and valuable to your process?
S Hodg says
Another interesting fact – Mcdonald’s current CEO started his career with Mcdonalds when he was young, starting at the bottom and working his way up.
I like Mcdonalds and I like their current “Plan to Win”. They’re moving away from the idea that simply opening more stores will drive more revenue to focusing on new ways to delight customers at existing stores.
Paul Todd says
I think this is outstanding. Sure, I wish there fewer fast food places and more steel mills and machine shops, but there is dignity in honest work done well.
If you think you’re too smart to learn anything from McDonald’s, watch the video and look for examples of standard work, process control, visual controls, flow, pull, customer focus, and of course, respect for people.
Tim DelVecchio says
Great thought-provoking video. When we talk about this being the “bottom” and “working [your] way up” (S Hodg post), that just reinforces the mindset of front line worker = menial and boss/manager/CEO = better.
I’d like to challenge the notion on restaurants as a “service” industry. I’m not in the restaurant business, I’m in “manufacturing”. But when you step back and think about it what do you see? Restaurants have a supply chain that transform things into something that adds value to your life. In the video you see the end of the supply chain, with final assembly and sales people (with some marketing thrown in).